TEHRAN, Iran — I met Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halki in one of Tehran’s posh hotels while he was in the Iranian capital to take part in the inauguration of President Hassan Rouhani. A few months ago, on April 29, Halki survived an assassination attempt in Damascus, so I began by asking him about his thoughts at that moment and whether he had considered ridding himself of such a burden.

Halki replied, “The assassination attempt made me more confident of what I’m doing for my country. I’m not better than the martyrs who were killed on several occasions by those criminals.” He added, “The good news is that those who made the attempt on me and other innocent Syrians are now in custody. This same group killed Sheikh Ramadan al-Bouti, and soon you’ll see [their confessions] on Syrian television.”

Conducting the interview in Iran meant we, of course, had to discuss Syrian-Iranian relations. Halki explained that this was his fifth visit to Iran and that he feels as if he is among friends and family here.

“Our relations with Iran didn’t start today. The basis of this alliance was laid by the late Imam [Ruhollah] Khomeini and the late [Syrian President] Hafez al-Assad, and now it has reached its peak with President Bashar [al-Assad] and Imam [Ali] Khamenei,” Halki offered. He elaborated, explaining that today the two countries have several bilateral economic agreements. “The last agreement was to open a $3.6 billion credit facility between Damascus and Tehran, and this will help Syria import petroleum products that we need, in addition to Iranian power-generating products and other goods.”